Three Nuggets of Wisdom From Dr. Kanye West's Honorary Speech at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

In case you missed it, Kanye West is now a bona fide doctor, having received an honorary doctorate degree on Monday from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Artist Nick Cave said in his introduction that The College Dropout maestro was "being recognized for his transformative, genre-defining work across performance, film and fashion design." In Ye’s worldview, no detail is too small to be overlooked: Before taking the stage to address his fellow SAIC graduates, West removed several water bottles from the podium—an apparent lesson in aesthetic ’curation’—saying, "I’m sorry, that’s just my opinion."

A shy and newly inducted Dr. West then proceeded to bless the attendees with a few more opinions.

Lesson #1: Apologize first and often

West isn’t shy when it comes to sharing his thoughts. In his thank you speech, he said, "I’m sorry is something you can use a lot. It gives you the opportunity to give your opinion, apologize for it, and give your opinion again." Indeed, Kanye never hesitates to speak his mind (see: Swift, Taylor; Bush, George W.) and even his rants are sprinkled with truth bombs. Kanye once said: "My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live." Which, damn. He’s right.

Lesson #2: Um, Believe in Yourself?

"It’s these Floyd Mayweather belts that are needed to prove what I’ve been saying my entire life," he told the graduates. Kanye then hinted at his detractors, a list both long and varied, particularly in the fashion world. He was famously turned away from studying a Fashion Design MA at London’s Central Saint Martins from late professor and fashion demi-god Louise Wilson. And after his womenswear show in 2011, New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn ripped him a new one, writing, "What Mr. West needs is a tailor so the clothes will fit." But persistence apparently pays off! Fast forward to 2015, and Kanye has his own line of sportscore-inspired apparel in a purported multimillion dollar deal with Adidas (after apparently feeling spurned by Nike), giving the good doctor the freedom to bring the cozy-dystopian dreamscapes of his imagination to life.

Lesson #3: Stay in school

West wrapped up his speech by saying, "This is going to make your lives easier. Two reasons: you don’t have to defend me as much. And I’m going to make all of our lives easier." And what would have made Kanye West’s life easier? "When I was giving a lecture at Oord I brought up this school, because when I went on that mission to create in other spaces—apparel, film, performance—it would have been easier if I could have said I had a degree at the Art Institute of Chicago." And as he said this, the new doctor flashed a rare smile.